How Does Lightning Protection Work For Large Trees?
How Lightning Protecting Systems Protect Trees?
Lightning strikes can damage trees in a multitude of ways and will strike without warning. A lot of misinformation is spread around regarding lightning strikes and trees. Large trees are commonly struck and tend to have a higher chance of being hit than smaller, shorter trees. Lightning does sometimes strike at random and may not always be attracted to the tallest object or the tallest tree. With the help of a professional arborist, you can determine the best way to protect your trees. Air terminals, which are commonly known as lightning rods, are one of the few effective measures you can take to protect your tree from lightning.
In the event that lightning strikes your tree, the air terminal will provide a low-resistance path for the lightning’s electrical current to pass through without causing serious damage to the tree. The lightning strike will move through metal conductors and the electrical charge will be dispersed underground. In the event that a tree is struck by lightning that doesn’t have a protection system, the lightning can cause severe damage. By utilizing lightning protection you’re significantly reducing the chance of fire and burns, lightning scars, and the long-term damage that can follow a lightning strike. Having lightning protection installed will help protect your tree from serious damage or even death.
Does Your Tree Need Protection?
Because large trees have a higher chance of being struck by lightning, some large trees benefit from having multiple air terminals installed. By having more than one air terminal in the tree the lightning is more likely to strike one of the lightning rods rather than a tree limb. A professional arborist will take into account the dimensions and size of a tree to determine if it would benefit from a tree protection system, and how to customize that system to maximize protection. We take into account the circumference of the trunk, the overall height, and the spread of the tree. Different tree species have different levels of density within the wood. The density of the wood impacts how conductive the tree is, and can help us determine the vulnerability of the tree. Even the thickness of the tree’s bark can be a determining factor whether or not it needs protection. Our team of professional arborists will create a plan that is customized to each tree on your property in order to ensure they are getting the necessary protection.
Mitigating Lightning Damage
A common misconception is that trees are not conductive and they are safe to stand under during a lightning storm. Because trees hold a significant amount of water, and that water typically has a high mineral content they act as conductors. The density of the wood and type of bark can impact the amount of damage inflicted on the tree from a lightning strike. Depending on where the lightning strikes, it can cause scars along limbs or down the trunk, burning off bark and leaving a clear mark. With a lightning protection system installed, a lightning strike will be intercepted by an air terminal. Instead of the current moving through the wood, it will pass through the conductor cable and be directed into the ground. Because of the low resistance path a conductor cable provides, an electrical current will easily pass down into the ground. Any effective setup for lightning protection will include a grounding system buried underneath the soil surrounding the tree. As the lightning current moves into the grounding system it dissipates, mitigating any damage that would otherwise be caused by the lightning strike. Lightning protection also greatly reduces the likelihood of a side flash happening, where part of the lightning current leaves the tree and strikes another object nearby.
How Lightning Moves Through Metal Conductors
Lightning rods act as interceptors that take the electrical charge and dissipate it into the ground. The metal air terminals are positively charged, and provide a point for lightning to strike and be dispersed. The metal cables, often made from copper or aluminum allow the electrical current to flow from the air terminals into the ground. Because copper is one of the most conductive materials the lightning will not jump from the cables back onto the tree. The copper offers a path with extremely little resistance that lightning will almost always follow.
How Are Lightning Protection Systems Installed?
First, we determine the best lightning protection system for your tree. This means we narrow down how many lightning rods your tree should have, which then informs us how many conductors we will install. The grounding system will also be determined by air terminals to ensure that the entire electrical current can be controlled. Under the soil a grounding system is installed, which disperses the current and prevents it from doing any real damage. Metal plates and/or rods are placed underground, and the current travels to them before being released into the soil. All of this happens in an instant. Instead of lightning hitting your tree directly and causing severe damage, it will instantly travel into the earth and be dispersed.
What to Do if a Tree is Damaged from a Lightning Strike
A protection system will greatly reduce or even prevent any damage occurring from a lightning strike. In the event that a tree was struck by lightning that had no protection, Joseph Tree offers services to provide assistance. We provide inspections for lightning strikes in order to give our customers a clear plan of action. During an inspection, we can assess the damage done by the lightning, the health of the tree, and what sort of care plan we can enact to save the tree. We are able to quickly implement strategies developed to accelerate the tree’s healing process. From carefully removing damaged parts of the tree to implementing a specific fertilizer program to fight disease we do everything we can to save the tree.
As professional arborists, we want to do our best to protect the trees of our state. Whenever we encounter a tree that has been damaged by lightning we do our best to avoid tree removal. The unfortunate reality is that sometimes a tree that is susceptible to lightning strikes that doesn’t have any protection may be damaged beyond saving. In those cases, we will recommend tree removal to protect you, and your property, and potentially have new trees planted!
Is Tree Removal Necessary?
After inspecting the tree we may conclude that it cannot be saved. If the roots of the tree are extremely damaged, scars are too significant, or if the tree has burned from fire, we will suggest tree removal. In cases where the damage is severe, the tree will begin to decay and its health will quickly decline. After it has been determined that a tree removal is the best option we are able to move quickly. We suggest removals of this type happen immediately because a tree that has lost its structural integrity or has begun to decay is a safety risk. If a tree were to fall it may easily damage nearby trees, structures, property, or even people. In the event that lightning has struck your tree, reach out to Joseph Tree so we can visit your property and perform an inspection. We will provide recommendations, whether that be a care plan to protect the tree’s health or to schedule a removal.
Joseph Tree’s Tree Removal and Tree Care Services
The team of arborists at Joseph Tree is passionate about making trees healthy and keeping our customers safe. Our services include caring for trees, preventative plant care, and general maintenance. We also provide more specialized services like tree removal, tree replacements, commercial services, lightning protection system installations, and care plants for trees that have been seriously injured. To learn more about our services or schedule an inspection contact us today.